[Chapter 4, Volume 4]

Verse 133 Chapter 133 Why did it come about?

Song Beiqiao set up a family banquet in the Guogong Mansion, first, to see Lu Hong and Lu Xianger's opinions on Lu Erniang and Song Yuan. Second, I also want to show my attitude and let Lu Erniang feel at ease. What Song Beiqiao didn't expect was that Lu Hong and Lu Xianger's performance surprised him very much, but he was very satisfied and liked the brother and sister very much.

However, what made Song Beiqiao even more unexpected was that the sudden visit of the fourth prince Zhao Chengmin made him very puzzled. When Song Beiqiao took his family and went to greet the four princes, he had already guessed in his heart a variety of Zhao Chengmin's intentions to come to the Guogong Mansion.

It is said that His Majesty, the current emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is the third emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, called Zhao Changyuan. His Majesty the Emperor has many concubines in his harem, but he only dotes on a few of them. So much so that he only has four sons and two daughters until now. Of course, the palaces of the past dynasties are full of deceit, and there are not a few princes and princesses who died before they were born. And those who survived and grew up are these six princes and princesses.

Among them, the eldest son Zhao Chengyu was born by Zhao Changyuan's Yuan Rong Empress. Empress Yuan and Zhao Changyuan are a young couple, and their feelings are naturally deep. After Zhao Chengyu was born, he was named the crown prince by Zhao Changyuan. However, Yuan Rong sat in the queen's chair for only two years before he fell ill and died, and Zhao Changyuan also had a lot of official affairs and could not take care of Zhao Chengyu all the time, so his temperament was a little indecisive.

When Zhao Changyuan felt that Zhao Chengyu's temperament was inappropriate, it was a little late. Although Zhao Changyuan has worked hard to accompany the crown prince in these years, he wants him to become the future monarch. But Zhao Chengyu's temperament has been cultivated, which obviously makes Zhao Changyuan more and more disappointed. In the past three years, Zhao Changyuan has been indulgent to Zhao Chengyu and turned his attention to the other three princes.

Assuming that Zhao Chengyu is denied, according to the order of the eldest and youngest, the second prince Zhao Chenggao is the most likely to be crowned the crown prince. This Zhao Chenggao's biological mother, Concubine Xiang, is also one of Zhao Changyuan's favorite concubines. It is rumored that Concubine Xiang is very methodical, and when she first entered the palace, she asked Zhao Changyuan to stay in her bedroom for a month. Therefore, Concubine Xiang was able to give birth to a second prince after Empress Yuan. A few years later, another princess was born.

The second prince, Zhao Chenggao, can be said to be a very outstanding prince, not only writing well, but also not inferior to the prince in knowledge. Moreover, he also served in the army as a teenager and made military achievements. For a while, Zhao Changyuan did not praise Zhao Chenggao in front of the minister. But it's a pity that Zhao Chenggao's biological mother, Concubine Xiang, is the cousin of King Chen of Jiangnan. Because of King Chen's rebellion, he was deliberately snubbed by Zhao Changyuan three years ago, and even the momentum on Zhao Chenggao's head also dropped.

As the saying goes, officialdom is like a casino. If you bet right, you will be promoted and make a fortune; If you make a mistake, you will lose your official position and lose your life. These things happen every time a new emperor ascends the throne. After King Chen rebelled, some people in the court set their sights on the other two princes, the third prince Zhao Chengru and the fourth prince Zhao Chengmin.

Speaking of which, Concubine Song, the biological mother of the third prince Zhao Chengru, is also the concubine that Zhao Changyuan has loved so far. In addition to the three princes under her, she also has a princess. This princess is the eldest princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty and is deeply loved by Zhao Changyuan.

Of course, this Concubine Song also has a background. Her surname is Song, and she is a member of the Song family. Although Song Beiqiao is not Concubine Song's father, Concubine Song's biological father is the daughter of Song Beiqiao's younger brother. In the eyes of outsiders, with Song Beiqiao, a veteran of the Three Dynasties and an important minister in the court, Zhao Chengru is the most likely to win that chair. But who would have thought that Zhao Chengru, the dignified prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was a real nerd. When Zhao Changyuan personally said that Zhao Chengru would definitely become a generation of Confucianism like his name. There was a minister who understood His Majesty the Emperor, so he also gave up the third prince and looked at the fourth prince Zhao Chengmin.

Zhao Chengmin, the fourth prince who came to the Guogong Mansion today, is really not inferior to the crown prince Zhao Chengyu. Because his biological mother, Ouyang Jing, was the second queen of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although it was sealed after her death, it was seen that Zhao Changyuan had a deep affection for her.

Ouyang Jing herself has no deep background, and she is still an orphan girl, but this orphan girl has a very amazing father-in-law. He is Huo Jing, who is known to all the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the only general who has been named 'General Protector'.

Of course, Ouyang Jing is the only woman in the palace who is not loved by Zhao Changyuan because of the background behind her. It can be said that after Yuan Rong, Ouyang Jing's death was the only woman who made Zhao Changyuan not go to court three times. Therefore, Zhao Chengmin, the youngest son, was naturally favored by Zhao Changyuan in every way.

However, among the four princes, Zhao Chengmin is also the only one who ignores the imperial power. After Ouyang Jing's death, Zhao Chengmin never smiled at Zhao Changyuan, and confrontation and quarrels often occurred. Moreover, Zhao Chengmin is also the prince who attaches the least importance to identity among the four princes. Like going to the Qinglou and boarding the painting boat, for Zhao Chengmin, it will happen every day.

For these things, Zhao Changyuan reprimanded and punished Zhao Chengmin a lot, but he was still like that when he left the palace, he didn't change at all. In the end, what Zhao Changyuan did to him was to turn a blind eye and close one eye. As long as no one puts Zhao Chengmin's affairs on the table, Zhao Changyuan is too lazy to care about him.

Zhao Changyuan's attitude was ambiguous, and the ministers in the court were a little confused. At first glance, the four princes all have a lot of power behind them, and they all have the potential to win that chair. But if you think about it carefully, the four princes have their own mistakes, and it is impossible for them to sit on that chair. There is that scheming one, and after observing for a period of time, it suddenly dawned on him, and he honestly did things for the court. Song Beiqiao, who has experienced three dynasties, is one of these 'old scheming'.

Song Beiqiao had already seen it, so he would stay out of the matter and not get involved in these things. Although Zhao Changyuan had four princes, one of them was still the crown prince. But he was in the prime of life at this time, and those courtiers who didn't understand were in a hurry to find a 'backer', isn't it a long life.

Looking at the smiling fourth prince Zhao Chengmin, Song Beiqiao put away his thoughts and was about to step forward to greet him. Without waiting for Song Beiqiao to make a gesture, Zhao Chengmin stepped forward and grabbed Song Beiqiao's hand in a few steps, and said with a smile: "Old man, I can't afford your big gift, let's just do it." ”

"His Royal Highness is still so approachable, and the old minister is also reckless." Song Beiqiao laughed and straightened up. But Song Fang, Song Yuan and others didn't dare to be like Song Beiqiao, and they still stood on both sides after finishing the ceremony.

The fourth prince looked at the sun above his head and smiled at Song Beiqiao again: "Old man, it's almost noon now, I don't know if you've eaten?" ”

"It turns out that the four princes knew that the old minister had good food and wine at home, so they came to 'fight the autumn breeze'." Song Beiqiao stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes and smiled again: "Since His Royal Highness already knows, the old minister will not say 'I have already eaten'." ”

As soon as Song Beiqiao's words fell, the four princes and him immediately looked at each other and laughed, and Song Yuan and Song Fang also laughed. At this time, it can also be seen that Song Yuan is smiling very happily, like an unruly person. And Song Fang's smile was a little subtle, with the characteristics of a literati.

After laughing, Song Beiqiao made a gesture of invitation to the fourth prince Zhao Chengmin, and lined up with him in the crowd. And when Zhao Chengfa passed in front of Lu Xiang'er and a few people, he suddenly stopped and smiled brightly at Lu Xiang'er: "Little lady Lu, let's meet again." ”

"The people see Your Highness." Lu Xiang'er pretended not to know the four princes, so she was more low-key. But Zhao Chengmin didn't seem to give her this opportunity, so she had to bite the bullet and say 'Wanfu'.

Lu Xianger just didn't want to be too public, but some people didn't think so. After the fourth prince deliberately said a word to Lu Xiang'er, a glimmer of light quickly flashed in Song Beiqiao's eyes, and he immediately disappeared. But Song Fang and his wife were surprised to turn around on Lu Xiang'er, obviously not expecting that Lu Xiang'er, a civilian little lady, would actually meet the fourth prince.

Song Yuan had already learned something from Huo Qingqing about what happened to her in Jiangling Mansion, so he was not too surprised. But Huo Qingsong and Huo Qingqing, brothers and sisters, who had known about this for a long time, were staring at Zhao Chengmin's back. Huo Qingqing was not good at hiding his thoughts, frowning, not knowing what he was muttering to himself. Huo Qingsong couldn't see any expression, but his eyes became more and more profound.

Zhao Chengmin grew up in the royal family, so he naturally felt the gaze of several people behind him. But he didn't have any explanation, and smiled at Song Beiqiao: "Old man, since Little Lady Lu is here, there must be good wine." I hope the old man won't be too stingy and let me taste it. ”

"Your Highness said this, it really killed the old minister. However, Xiang'er didn't bring too much wine. The old minister gave up half of the jar to feast on His Highness. As soon as he heard that Zhao Chengmin wanted to drink, Song Beiqiao's face immediately changed. However, his reaction was very fast, and while his face was very distressed, he gave Zeng Erstein a vague look.

Zeng Er's steward has been in the Guogong Mansion for a long time, so he naturally understands what Song Beiqiao means. When everyone didn't pay attention, he ran to the place where the wine was stored and poured one of the large jars of wine brought by Lu Xiang'er into a small jar. After the small jar was half filled with soju, he came to the dining room with the small jar in his hand.

Seeing the small jar on the table, Lu Erniang and Lu Hong immediately opened their eyes wide and looked at Song Beiqiao. Song Yuan and Huo Qingqing couldn't help laughing, and they laughed very strangely. Song Fang and Wyeth lowered their heads, not wanting Zhao Chengmin to see their expressions. Huo Qingsong and Chaoxia didn't know anything, without a trace of expression. As for Lu Xiang'er, because of Song Beiqiao's words just now, she guessed this scene, and her expression turned to the other dishes on the table.

The reaction of everyone all fell in the eyes of Zhao Chengmin and Song Beiqiao, who were in the main position. Zhao Chengmin couldn't help but smile, shook his head and said, "I heard my father say that my husband loves wine like life, but I still don't believe it." Now it seems that the old man is really more than that. Originally, I wanted to ask for some from my husband. Looking at it this way, I also directly asked for favor from Little Lady Lu. ”